Manufacture of matches



March 28, Q R DAVOUST MANUFACTURE OF MATCHES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 28, 1956 ya /2. HM

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March 28, 1961 o. R, DAVOUST MANUFACTURE OF MATCHES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 28, 1956 O. R, DAVOUST MANUFACTURE OF MATCHES March 28, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March' 28, 1956 United States Patent MANUFACTURE OF MATCHES Oskar R. Davonst, Jonkoping, Sweden, assignor to Svenska Tiindsticks' Aktiebolaget, Jonkoping, Sweden, a Swedish joint-stock company Filed Mar. 28, 1956, Ser. N0. 574,434

4 Claims. (Cl. 73-12) This invention relates generally to the manufacture of' strength, and if they dipped and used as matches they may easily break on striking against the striking surface and cause damage.

An object of the invention is to test the cut match splints in such a way that too weak splints cannot be inserted in the dipping machines, whereby the remaining splints when dipped will have a high and more equal strength.

Another object of the invention is to prevent weak splints from being dipped by causing them to break at an early stage so that they owing to form or length are automatically separated when splints are transferred in the ordinary way to the splint carrier in the dipping machine or may be separated'in a special operation by means of ordinary devices for removing short splints.

The essential feature of the method according to the invention is to introduce match splints freely between rotating impact members and expose them to such an impact effect by said impact members that weak splints are broken for subsequent separation from the sound splints.

In general, the device for testing the match splints according to the invention, thus, comprises a rotary mounted wheel, a plurality of impact members disposed in a circle round the axis of rotation and separated by substantially radial passages for the splints, a feeding device for introducing the splints freely into said passages, and a driving mechanism for rotating said wheel.

The speed of the impact members and the corresponding impact force may be so selected that splints having a bending strength which is less, preferably about 20% less, than the average strength of perfect splints are broken. As the wood used for making the match splints may vary with respect to mechanical strength, the content of knots and the anomaly of fiber direction it is preferred to use a variable speed drive for the wheel, and in practise the speed may be regulated to such a number of revolution that 5-10% of the splints are broken in dependence of higher or lower quality of the wood. The splints are preferably passed through the passages outwards from a room within the circle of the impact members by means of a suitable feeding device. This feeding device may comprise a rotary disc within said room, and the disc may be provided with guiding and directing channels, or the splints may be conveyed towards the impact members by a current of air from a ventilator.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which show illustrative embodiments of this invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a front elevation, partially in section, of a device for breaking splints,

Figure 2 shows aside elevation of the device, corresponding to Figure 1,

Figure 3 shows a side elevation, partially in section, of another embodiment of the device,

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a feed-wheel provided with passages, and a Figure 5 shows a perspective view of an impact wheel which is provided with fan baffies and which can be used for both embodiments of the device.

The device shown in Figures 1 and 2 for breaking defective splints comprises an impact wheel 2 which is driven by a motor 1 and which is fixed to a horizontal shaft 3. The wheel, which may exert a certain fanning action, is provided with a fan casing 4 with an axial inlet 5 and tangential outlet 6 for the splints. Two rows of axial rods 7 are each mounted along a circular line at a constant angular distance, between a wheel disc 35 and an annular disc 10, each rod in the outer row lying radially outside a rod in the inner row. Fixed at a constant distance from one another, to each pair of axial rods are a number of radial link rods 8. The wheel disc 35 is mounted on a hub, the inward-facing surface of which is constructed in the form of a substantially conical rotary surface 9.

The device operates as follows;

The splints, which may come direct from a chopping machine (splint-cutting machine), but are preferably dried after cutting, are conveyed towards the curved surface 9, for example, by the current of air resulting from the fanning section of the wheel, so that the splints are distributed in various directions without a substantially tangential movement being imparted thereto. The majority of the splints fall downwards, the substantially radially directed splints being exposed to an impact with the inner or outer axial rods 7, while the substantially 'axially directed splints are struck by the radial rods 8.

The distance between the axial rods and the radial rods is selected in relation to the length of the splints in such a manner that practically all the splints are exposed to the action of the impact rods. The peripheral speed of the rods is so calculated that only defective splints are broken while perfect splints leave the device unbroken.

It is assumed that the motor illustrated is a variable speed DC. motor. After the splints have been treated by the impact wheel and have passed through the passages 36 between the impact members, they are carried along by the current of air through the outlet 6 to be separated from the broken splints in a separate operation.

In the device illustrated in Figure 3, the wheel 2 is mounted on the upper end of a vertical hollow shaft 3, which is mounted in two bearings 11 in an upright 28 and is provided with a belt pulley 20. Here again, two rows of axial rods 7 run between the annular disc 10 and the wheel disc 35 which is constructed in the form of a closed bottom.

As can be seen from the modified construction shown in Figure 5, the wheel 2 may also be constructed with a single ring of axial rods 7 and fan baffies 14 mounted between these, the inner edges of the fan baflles being spaced apart at substantially the same radial distance as the rods and therefore likewise serving as impact members for breaking the splints. The ban baflies may, however, also be disposed radially outside each or every other rod.

Mounted inside the wheel 2 is a feed wheel 13 which rests on a ball bearing on the upper end of the shaft 3 and may be driven by means of a belt pulley from a Patented Mar. 28, 1961 3 shaft, 12 passing through the hollow shaft 3. The wheel has araised portion 16 situated inthe middle in front of,

splints are more reliably struck at right angles by theimpact memb s n uni on lr ested; for; ben n strength. s

According to the-modification shown; in Figure 4 the wheel is provided in the; vicinity of itspcriphery with.

closed passagcs17, the w-ide walls of which are parallel or may converge towards the outside. The width of the passages in the tangential-dire tim should be greater, in the inlet, than half; the length of the splints and preferably somewhat greater-than their whole length. Here again, the splints are radially directedin such a manner that they are struck substantially atright-angles by the impact members.

' The belt pulley 20 is driven by a V-belt 21 from a belt pulley composedof two conical discs 23 and mounted on the shaft 22 of the motor 18. The discs are adjustable in a known manner in the axial direction in relation to one another, so as to varythe reduction ratio between the shafts 22 and 3. One or both discs 23 may rest resiliently against the belt. In a similar manner, the belt pulley 30 is -driven by the V-belt 31 from the adjustable belt pulley 32 on theshaft 33 of the motor 19. The motorls is displaceable about the; vertical shaft 24 in, various positions'corresponding tothe distance between the discs 23, by means of a screw 26 which is provided with a handwheel 25 and screwed into a rotatable nut member 29 and which isconnected tothe motor at 27.

The:motr 19 is adjustable in a similar manner by' meansof the screw 34. Both the speed of the feed wheel 13 and thatof the impact wheel 2 can thus be adjusted independently of one another so thatthe required rela-.

tivespeed canbe obtainedregardless of the speed required by the feed wheel for the maximum efiiciency in receiving the splints and feeding them to the impact members. The wheels 2 and 13 may rotate in opposite directions but the same direction of rotation is preferably used, in which case the impact wheel produces the maximum fanning effect-and the splints can be carried away by the current of air produced;

Theembodiments of the device for breaking splints may bemodified in various ways. Thus,the impact vacre r1? v wheel may consist of a wheel with a shaft mounted vertically and with projecting radial rods against which the splints fall longitudinally. Or the wheel may be mounted horizontally and constructed like a cage consisting of rods, onto which the splints fall from the outside.

What I claim is:

l. A method of makingmatches from match splints, comprising passing wooden match splints freely between rotating impact members and subjecting the splints to sucha blow action that defective weak splints are broken, separating oil? the broken splints, and dipping the sound splints in an igniting composition.

2. Mechanism foritesting match splints, comprising a casing having an-upper inlet opening for the supply of match splints andhaving a lateral discharge opening, a vertical rotatable shaft extending from below into said casing, a circular disk on the upper end portion of said shaft having an elevated central portion opposite to said inlet opening and. a horizontal peripheral portion with projecting radial walls for receiving the match splints and throwing them substantially in their longitudinal direc tion by meansof centrifugal force oif from said disk, an impact wheel mounted on a tubular shaft and having a series of'axially extending impact rods spaced laterally from and opposite to and at a sufiicient distance from said circular disk. to allow the splints to pass freely through the air toward said impact rods, said rods having a curvedconvex edge surface facing in the direction of rotation for striking the splints passing through said bars to a free space between the bars and the casing.

3. Mechanism as claimed inclaim 2, and in which the axially extendingrod-shaped impact members are disposed in two concentric circles.

4. Mechanismasclaimed in claim 2, and in which said impact wheel is provided with fan blades between adjacent-pairs'of said impact rods for passing a current of airthrough the passages between the impact rods.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,152,797 Van D. Cruser Sept. 7, 1915 2,103,374 Mikan Dec. 28, 1937 2,228,425 Venderbush Jan. 14, 1941 2,529,679 Dodds Nov. 14, 1950 2,539,775 Gordon Jan. 30, 1951 2,582,509 Smith Ian. 15, 1952 2,585,657 Keefer Feb. 12, 1952 2,757,872 Rehwald et al Aug. 7, 1956 

